Flush's RWBY Amor Series!
by Amber Flush
Summary: Basically, I take OCs, cast members, and whatever else in between to pair them together in one cute multi-part love story that I really really hope people will enjoy! Lemon and bad language warning, coming with an M rating, I also own nothing except my own OC, who will be pointed out... when he's pointed out. Enjoy via laughing, crying, wetting yourself, etc.
1. Story 1, Hand 1: Fold

So what does an Amber Flush do when he gets bored? He writes.

What does he do when he writes? He becomes especially bored.

What does he do when he becomes especially bored?

He thinks of incredibly random series...es...esses... whatever that consist of sex, RWBY, and a crazy Schnee son that may or may not actually be the son of the Schnee Dust Company's CEO. Plainly put, it's a bunch of OCxCast member stuff that I will totally enjoy writing.

Hopefully with my pants on!

Anyway. Story 1 introduces the Schnee reject Soveren, who is written as Weiss's own brother, but acts... eh... different? Eh... yeah, different. Considerably different. He's blessed with the power of electrokinesis, which is regulated by the gauntlets he sports on his hands. They also looks scary! Which is always cool.

At any rate, I'm done talking. I've given you the bare info, and now, enjoy finding out about Soveren from the following text. Thank you, and please don't sue me, Monty, I own NADDA!

Except Soveren.

* * *

It was kind of... well, strange, really. To just... watch. To sit there and watch him smile. Not at her, mind, as she'd gotten used to over the months on end. It was a little thing. Real small. But she noticed. Oh, boy, did she notice. Her eyes were always somewhere in his direction; it was that way from the very start. Wasn't it her that had seen his actual worth first? Not as a warrior, mind, as a human being. She'd gone out of her way to stop him from crashing down into the trees and disarmed herself doing it. Had he not caught on from that? Or even from the later occurrences, perhaps her birthday present to him? How could you even miss the implication o-

"Pyrrha!"

She straightened up from her hunched position with a startled yelp, and glanced around quickly for the source of her name. Her eyes landed on the blonde mop of amazing she had never spent a moment not thinking about, and she sighed slowly in a kind of relief. If she tried hard enough, she could imagine the tone as soft, caring, perhaps in a different setting... yes, different setting. This one was too... ehhh...

"Pyrrha, you have to... you know... order."

… Right. She quickly shook her head clear of her little fantasies and took the menu up into her grasp, flicking it open up on the way up. It only took her a few moments to place an order, considering that it all looked terrible and the first thing you think looks good would be the best idea. Filet mignon isn't that bad sometimes, anyway. Water with that, she reminded herself. Anything to keep her mind off of... uhg... they're doing it again.

She averted her eyes, just for a second, towards something else. They landed on the stage a fair way away from their table, lit up brilliantly with a velvet curtain and just begging for someone to step up onto the stage. Apparently, there was supposed to be a performer present for the dinner tonight. The basis for their coming here, according to Jaune. That was nice of him. It really was. Though, honestly...

It'd be a whole lot better if it was her he was thinking about. Instead...

"Hey, Jaune..." Pyrrha's eyes flicked back over as she heard the name, settling on the mass of black and red that happened to be the main course of the little event. All of this- this damn amazing table with a beautiful emerald tablecloth (which she was fooling herself into thinking it was a message from Jaune), the candelabra with red and white sticks to illuminate their night, the restaurant itself (which was clad in royal beige and crimson, all very fancy and proper and so much of what she was used to)- was for that... little... GIRL! Oh, she so wanted to call her something else, but it was neither becoming of her or even fitting.

"Yes, Ruby?" … But how Jaune responded just begged for her to interject, say something. Maybe asking to powder up? Eh, no, too obvious. And she didn't use powder much, anyway, so no point. About all she had was... well... eye shadow. That was kinda it. Funny how that worked. She allowed herself a small smile as her mind wandered off to the land of imagination, not even seeing how the younger Huntress at the table was leaning against Jaune's arm, hands gripping the sleeve of his hoodie as half of her hair hung over one eye. Enticing, sure, to Jaune. That was how he was...

"Did you know they have a performance scheduled in a few minutes? It sounds fun."

"Really..." Of course he did. Pyrrha felt her consciousness rocket back home as she glanced over at the pair of lovers sitting just next to her, trying to keep her expression level before turning her attention to the stage. Their orders were taking a while... and so were their drinks... lovely service. Couldn't be better. She shook her head a touch as the sarcasm echoed about in her skull, emanating from some evil little part of her mind that had formed only a week before.

The week when... uhg... again with the head shaking. She didn't want to even think about the last week. It was kind of sort of a hell on earth, watching Jaune kind of... gravitate away from her and towards that little girl that lucked out and got into Beacon before her peers. Just, without warning. No signs, no alarm, no red flags... nothing. One day, he just walked into mess with Ruby on his arm and told her. Just told her. Smiling. Radiant. Beautiful. A devil. A terrible messenger.

She glanced up at the stage, head pounding with the resurfaced memories she wished to slam down and keep silent, but to no avail. She sent out a silent prayer to whatever deity alive that would listen to send her some kind of distraction, a dream catcher, so to speak.

"And tonight's entertainment, please welcome... er... Soverign Schnee."

… Schnee? Pyrrha let her eyes flick over to the side curtains in a burst of curiosity, her thoughts echoed by Ruby as she herself took her eyes off of Jaune (Good!) and put them on the stage instead.

"Schnee? Like Dust Company? Ohh, boy. And who has a name like Soverign?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jaune shrug and simply slide his arm down around Ruby's waist, which, of course, made her eyes adjust their angle so that the contact was NOT visible. Her main focus was on the stage, where Mr. Schnee was yet to make his...

"... NO cream, that's what I said! I don't like the freaking color, and I swear to whatever deity is paying attention right now, I will take a cactus and shove it down y..."

… Well. Pyrrha found herself blinking in absolute surprise and confusion as she saw a teenager, probably her age, stride onto the stage with a phone up to his ear and clearly... not pleased with some sort of service. As she saw him freeze in place in the center of the stage, he lowered the phone slowly and stared out at the crowd. In that moment, she managed to get a good look at him.

First thing she noticed was... well, his face. Of course. She believed he COULD be a Schnee just from that; his features were slightly angular, but soft in the right places (in her opinion), and overall... well, strikingly handsome. She was sure make-up was applied, but... seriously. The next thing was his hair. Short, a bit messy, and silver colored. Yep, nothing special for a Schnee (which she was going to play along with just because it was a good distraction). Going down, she saw that his build was... surprisingly lithe. His torso was rather thin, but he looked built well under the light blue dress shirt and black arabic-pattern sporting vest, also blue. Black slacks finished off the job, held firm with a shocking blue belt, and... he just looked Schnee.

And then he smiled. It was a small one, seen as his hand lowered from his face, phone in its grasp. Small, sheepish, apologetic. Pyrrha found herself almost amused by the sudden expression, if just because it... it didn't FIT with a Schnee, did it? She suppressed the urge to smile as she waited for him to actually start. As the smile began to spread, he pulled the phone up to his mouth, whispered something into it, and strode over to the edge of the stage to crouch down and hand a patron his phone.

"That was James, he's my assistant and he's new. If he calls during the show, just, uh... answer and tell him you're pregnant."

She couldn't help it; her and a few other patrons suddenly laughed, herself leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table. That was... completely off color! She glanced up as the performer stepped back near center stage and nodded to the girl he'd given the phone to, apparently saying something about how it'd make him freak out. That got a giggle out of her, at least. She composed herself quickly and turned her full attention towards... Soverign, was it? It was.

"So... sorry about that. I was sadly uninformed that my cue had come up. I guess the managers enjoy their time tables being followed to the letter. I wonder how much flak the cooks get."

Next to Pyrrha, Jaune hung his head with a little resounding laughter that mixed in with more of the patrons, some of them clearly appalled, but staying anyway because they had their food. Which they probably had to wait half an hour for anyway. She saw Soverign himself smile as the laughter rang in his ears, and laced his fingers together, his hands sporting gloves that had two fingers covered in black fabric.

"Yeah, but they'll get less flak than me. I walked up cursing at my assistant! That's charming. Now, if you weren't paying attention when the pretty voice lady spoke just a minute or two ago, you're probably wondering, 'Why, who is this handsome young lad-" He paused as a few patrons had to laugh into their napkins. "... standing up before such a crowd and making fun of himself? What a total ponce.'"

Pyrrha hung her head in order to cut off a bit of laughter at the near-perfect accent he had going for the little introduction. It was just so... fitting for the words, it probably hurt him to say it! She recovered quickly as the rest of the laughter began to die down, and Soverign unlaced his fingers and popped a wider smile. It only added to his looks, honestly.

"Firstly, I am not a ponce. I am a disrespected member of society! I worked hard for that title. You could at least use it."

Yep, that got them. Pyrrha found herself laughing along with the entire crowd- Jaune happily included, Ruby less so- as she put a hand over her mouth to mask the smile. Schnee indeed, with a sense of humor like that! She brushed a loose bang away from her eyes that had fallen from her merriment, hoping Jaune was at least looking. That was attractive, right? Right.

"Secondly, my name is Soverign. Soverign..." Idly, he held up a finger and began to trace in the air, a shining trail of light following the tip to spell out his name. S-O-V-E-R-I-G-N. So that WAS his name, apparently. Probably a stage name, but she honestly thought it was kind of fitting. The name held a certain... power to it. It was weird. So was the light coming from his fingertip, mind, but names are more important. Obviously.

"... Schnee. At your service." Soverign suddenly tilted his head with an eyebrow cocked up, then smiled. "That just doesn't sound right, does it?"

A spattering of laughter was there to reward his efforts, along with the crowd's full attention. How did he even do that...?

"Thought so. So I could have come here to make you shoot wine out of your nose with laughter... but don't do that, that's actually kinda weird."

If she drank wine, she would have, but the crowd wasn't as amused. Sadly. "I also could have come here to WOW you with magic."

He emphasized the 'wow with a quick brush of his hand, spreading out a deck of cards that apparently came from his palm, suit-side forward, and simply hung there in an arc in midair. The crowd hummed and clapped lightly as the cards didn't fall, all the while Soverign... pulling wires out of his sleeves. And an amp. And... what looked to be half of a violin's body. Pyrrha leaned forward just a bit to get a good look at the instrument. It was lacking one half of the body, yes, but... it WAS a violin.

"But I'm not here for that. It's a high-end place. It requires some high-end entertainment. And since the Golden Arcs-" Ohh, that was the name of the restaurant! She had completely forgotten when she let her mind wander. "- are kind of lacking in attractive females that have no self-respect, all it's got today is one guy... and his violin. So I won't hold you anymore, you all look like you're waiting for something. Probably your food."

That was met with laughter from a good chunk of tables, Pyrrha's included, as the performer set up on the stage with a small pedal hooked up to the violin, placed it on the floor, and pulled a bow out from his sleeve.

"So let me feed a different appetite." With that, he raised the bow, and lowered it slowly down to the strings. It raised for a moment, then came down once more to send out one note. One, and she was hooked. Pyrrha's attention was fully on the performer, specifically on his hands. The movements were so... natural, the notes so pure, she couldn't help but lose herself. Just a bit. His stance shifted as he stepped on the little pedal system lightly, and switched to a different fingering as the original notes rang out in a sort of echo. The room around Pyrrha seemed to dissolve as her vision tunneled in on Soverign, his stance begging for attention as his arm swayed back and forth, channeling the music it wanted to the instrument in his hands as he stepped on the pedal once more, then clenched the bow in his teeth lightly. With the now-free hand, he began to tap out a beat on the frame of the violin, and hit the pedal once more as a full measure passed to him.

With the framework set, the real music began. The world seemed to fade completely as the violin cried out a few sad notes, bending to the performer's will as the song rang familiar in her ears. It was a rather old song, she recalled, from a band local to her hometown. It was something about a king that had been overthrown or something very similar, and it was a rather sad song in itself. The way Soverign was playing it, though... something about it just made her skin tingle. It was almost as if he was playing for just one person, a single person that could appreciate, truly so, the sweet serenade he was supplying the patrons with. She drew in a breath, almost as if she feared it would be her last, as he hit the first chorus.

She couldn't help herself; a smile, cheerful as the midday sun and brighter than any light it could dare give off, spread across her features as Soverign nailed it perfectly, that little pedal his entire band- no, perhaps an orchestra, all strings and percussion- as it echoed previous sections he played seconds before. It all just came together in one sweet harmony, echoing about the room and making the place just that much more enjoyable to be in. Sure, her heart was practically beating in time with the music, and Jaune was right next to her probably being all cuddly with Ruby, but it just didn't really matter. The music mattered, and the beauty of it could scarcely be missed by any human ears.

Then he hit the crescendo, and the lights went out. She was pulled back to reality as the patrons jumped and looked around for a second, then turned to the stage as a figure was lit up in electric blue. The lights moved and pulsed in time with the performer's movements, and it seemed to only compliment the music Soverign was almost singing to them, his arms and fingers his chords, the violin his mouthpiece, of sorts. Pyrrha was dead sure the crowd was in the same state she was, though some had obviously left mid-performance. Why would they even do that? Couldn't they see the beauty of what he was just HANDING out to them for free, just so they could hear it? She didn't spare another thought to it as the serenade washed over her, the notes and bars and measures cleansing her of any sort of despair that was flooding her mind, and...

And then it stopped. Soverign finished his song with a flourish of his right hand, out towards the crowd, and clicked his pedal one last time. Pyrrha blinked as he mind returned to working order and stared up at the stage, the not-so-Schnee standing up there with wandering eyes... and stood up. She brought her hands together once... twice... three times, more people rising up with her to give Soverign what accounted to be a standing ovation, considering the crowd size. The performer's face lit up with the same smile he opened with, though more confident and cheerful than the last one. He dropped the bow and violin to his side and bowed to the masses, glancing around once more before settling on... Pyrrha.

She felt her heart skip just one beat. She counted it, one. He was staring right at her. Did he notice she was the first to rise? Oh, that's embarrassing! She slowed down just a bit as she drew away from his view, then noticed his angle of viewing. It was just a bit to her left... She turned her head that way, and quickly wished that she hadn't.

Her heart tore itself in two. Her eyes went wide beyond reasonable measure. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't tear them away from the sight. Jaune... Ruby... s-so close... in his lap! Wasn't that... She leaned over a bit to see, just out of curiosity... yes. Oh, lords, their lips were... she...

She couldn't handle it. She quickly turned from the table and ran away from the two lovebirds, covering her eyes and keeping her head down to avoid any recognition, not caring for the one set that was paying the most attention.

* * *

It was a mystery to Pyrrha, but she didn't know how she'd gotten there. Her mind returned to her fully as she glanced up from her choice of seating, against a brick wall in a rather dark alleyway that seemed to hide her perfectly fine. Her eyes felt sore; her throat burned with choked sobs that she felt were too strong to suppress. So she let them come, tears and all, streaking her face and landing in a pool on her boots, splashing out and leaving just a small dab of liquid on the surface before it was overtaken by another tear. And another. And another.

Yes... yes, that was natural. She knew it was. She saw it herself. Jaune was... Jaune was Ruby's. Fair and square. All of his smiles were Ruby's doing now. She couldn't have her favorite curve back now, could she? It was the way they looked at each other... she shook her head as a fresh wave of sobs rose up beyond her control, and she wrapped her arms around her knees tightly and just cried. Right there, in semi-public, allowed herself to cry.

As much as she hated it, Jaune was all she could even think about. His smiles, his little jokes, that nervous laugh, and... how he was just natural. Everything about him was real, even when he faked being confident, at least it was real lying! That's something! The tears kept coming as her mind pulled up its files on Jaune, how he'd looked at her during the initiation all those months ago, the way his eyes could barely leave her own, as if they were trapping his gaze just by being there. Quite like how Pyrrha herself was entranced with the boy.

And she hated it now. Hated how he'd tossed her away as a friend in exchange for some little upstart girl that was just sooooo special, sh-

"Hey. Tch-tch!" The voice rang out clearly and with a familiar tone, making her look up into a pair of eyes that held her gaze as if they were traps for it. They were shining gently, with a care and radiance that could only be matched by the stars above their heads, if just barely. They were even a vibrant yellow, just barely covered with a shock of silver hair. He held out a closed hand holding up a bag of what appeared to be fast food.

"... A-aren't... aren't you..."

"Soverign Schnee, yes. You ran out before you could get your food, miss. Was it that long of a wait?"

* * *

Anyone else notice spelling discrepancies? I did, too. It's for a reason. Anyway, RnR or I will find you and... I don't know, cry at you or something.

~ Flush


	2. Story 1, Hand 2: Raise

It's baaaaaack~. I wouldn't dare forget about this! Anyway, this is Story One, Hand 2: Raise. Enjoy!

Again, I own nothing but Soveren (Soverign)

* * *

The stares... uhg. The stares they were getting. Not that it wasn't strange; two people just suddenly barge into the Unto Dust Cafe (well, not quite barge, but rather the male just waltzing in and taking a table) with a bag of fast food and a tear-streaked Pyrrha Nikos in tow. It was certainly out of the ordinary, no questions about it. It was just different having stares of confusion rather than... admiration? That sounded like the right word.

Nonetheless, there she was, sitting right across from a possibly... crazy musician who stalked her all the way to her alley and gave her food. The crazy part she contemplated in silence as she looked over the sandwich he'd given her, himself eating... nothing, really. According to him he'd eaten prior to his performance, so he was 'fan-diddily-tastic.' No kidding, he actually said those exact syllables. Something had to be wrong.

"Disapproving of the feast I took so long to prepare for you?" And sarcastic, apparently. There was some sort of insult veiled in those words, she was sure. "I would've brought the food you ordered at the Arc, buuuut they were gonna charge me double what they paid me to do the freaking ONE song, so... best I could do."

This, he followed with an idle laugh and a bow of his head, the same smile still taking up real estate on his features, pretty much radiating good humor and a cheerfulness that Pyrrha doubted even Nora could match.

And she wouldn't even think of testing that. She raised an eyebrow as a smile spread across her face, almost on impulse with the teen as she brought the sandwich towards her open lips, closing them to seal the food in place before her teeth came down to slice through the bread. Her mouth was quickly flooded with the sweet flavor of the little concoction, and she allowed herself a moment to let the sustenance melt into her mouth.

Then the moment was over, and she scolded herself about eating such clearly unhealthy treats of the angels right before swallowing it. At least it was a nice distraction, how the food felt pressed against her lips, the jagged edges of the bread and fillings just begging her to take another bite. Idly, her head cast itself back to minutes ago, sitting at a table much nicer than this, clapping for that performer, and turning t-

Pyrrha quickly put the sandwich down and shook her head, nodding once or twice to affirm the little memory of hell was out of her mind for the moment. It was like the world just tilted itself upside down and played with her head- perhaps her heart, as cliché as that sounded- in that one freaking moment. It was just a little... kiss, right? Just one little kiss. Just one.

One moment to tell her she'd never have her cheerful Jaune all to herself.

"Depressing food?" For the second time that day, Pyrrha was jerked back to reality as her companion's voice shocked her out of her mental musings. Quickly, she glanced up at him and popped a forced smile, making it small so as to avoid notice, and shook her head.

"N-no, not at all. It's good. Great." She quickly lowered her head to take another bite out of the sandwich, noting the burst of sweet tomato that had somehow kept itself hidden on the first bite. It was a calculated move, really; one, she'd prove that the food he had taken the time out to get for her wasn't bad at all, and two, she wouldn't have to look at him. She always found herself staring into his eyes, as if the sunshine they seemed to be reflecting (although it was a starry night outside) would share with her the secrets of the world. Or, at least, what the body before her hid.

As she glanced back up, she found he was still staring.

"Faker." The sudden word made Pyrrha cough on a bit of her bite, and she looked up after a quick recovery into Soverign's eyes once more, immediately thinking she was going to regret it. "Why the reaction?"

"Reaction?"

"You're faking some'n." His smile only widened as he dragged the last syllable out in a sing-son type of tone. Gods, the sound made Pyrrha shiver as she recalled the restaurant performance, how each note sent a different chill up and down her spine, and made her chest tighten as she allowed herself to be dragged into a bliss she feared to let go of at the time.

_Make me look away, someone!_

"Faking? I assure you, Mister... um, Schnee, I would never li-"

"Liar." It was just one word, again, but it made her lean back in her seat, already feeling her fight or flight triggers go off in her mind. The one word from him carried quite the power, and the smile he held when he said it only seemed to make it just that much stronger. As much as she tried, she couldn't tear her eyes out of his' line, unwavering. It was... scary.

So why wasn't she running?

"Liar, liar liar. Let me see you smile."

… That was a strange request, but as it was a simple one... Pyrrha tilted her head as she brought her lips' corners up in a smile, watching his eyes as they flicked down, then back up with a very strange shine to them. She was vaguely reminded of a jewel.

"Too tight. No dimples, eyes aren't a touch closed. You're faking it."

She lost the smile immediately as her flight instincts roared at her to run, hide somewhere away from this... person, this thing that couldn't even be human, but looked like so much more than that. What in Ozpin's name was he?

"Soverign, was it? I assure y-"

"It was the kiss, wasn't it?"

And right to her heart, he dared fire and hit deep. Pyrrha felt her chest tighten up, breath hitching in her throat, as the question penetrated her skull and echoed in her own head. Kiss, kiss, kiss... She looked down and shut her eyes tightly as she tried to force the sight of Ruby, locked against Jaune by her arms and his about her waist, straddling his lap in the ONE way she had only dreamed of doing, but had no real courage to do so, down into the back of her mind once more, being foiled again and again as Soverign's question persisted in her mind.

It _WAS _the kiss. It was, it so freaking was, but why should she even tell him that?

"It was, huh?"

"And if it was?" Quickly, Pyrrha picked her previous demeanor up and regained a more neutral expression, deciding she should get on the offensive in order to get her point through. Forget the sandwich, some things were just more important.

"Then it'd explain why you were crying! Has anyone ever told you that you looked incredibly adorable after you cry?"

… Well, there went that idea. The little comment caught Pyrrha off guard as Soverign put on a wide smile and closed his eyes, allowing her respite from his eyes (and their gaze, which acted like its own special torture), but trapped her again with how his one expression seemed to radiate an infectious strain of cheerfulness. Was he a weapon? He had to be a weapon, something to use against her, maybe others.

"A-ah... u-um, thank you, Sov-"

"You haven't eaten your sandwich." … Oh, heck. Even with his eyes closed, huh? Sheesh... Pyrrha quickly grabbed the bread up and bit into it once more, inwardly moaning at the sweet taste of lettuce and another slice of tomato she'd missed again. Once more, she savored the sweet flavor and scolded herself for it, then glanced up as she noticed a little movement. Movement indeed; Soverign was up on his feet, extending a hand out towards her.

She knew she shouldn't even be thinking it, but she envisioned him in... white instead of black. Gods, and he didn't even know her name! Or... or did he? Before she could even ask, Soverign beat her to the punch.

"I think there's too many people here. I know a better place than this."

… Oh, gods.

* * *

'Better place,' as it so happened, actually referred to a rather choice spot on the shore of a crystalline lake on the outskirts of Vale, fenced off by an electric barrier that read;

**SCHNEE DUST COMPANY**

**PRIVATE PROPERTY**

**No Trespassing**

Which was easily circumvented by Soverign himself, who simply grabbed the fence, much to Pyrrha's horror, and, as he put it, 'shorted it' and blew the fuse box, allowing Pyrrha to slice an entrance out for the two of them. The strangest part was how he'd known there were no cameras around, since the SDC, no doubt, preferred to ensure their property was not trespassed upon.

A Schnee he was, then.

That led her to her seat, of sorts, against a lone tree overlooking the lake's surface, the water perfectly reflecting the shining stars up above her head. She sat there, alone for the moment, with her knees drawn up to her chest, and her arms secure around them. It was her little comfort position, something to make her calm down, breathe, and think. But she could only do one of the two things, which would be the last, as the first two were being circumvented by that little scene of Jaune again, and-

"Got 'em!" Soverign. The little anomaly of the world that had just barged into her life with a song, a sweet harmony that alleviated her soul's terrible weight and set her heart beating again, then captured her with eyes that the sun would surely be jealous of, should it ever see them. Even the stars seemed to shine a touch brighter as he approached her, carrying the drinks he'd managed to nab before they left the cafe on either hand, as if they were vying for her attention over this new arrival.

Sadly, they lost, as Soverign had her full attention as he took a seat next to her in the grass, the movement practically silent as he leaned back into the gentle roll of the shore. It all looked so... natural. That in itself was just unnatural.

"So... Soverign."

"Hmm?" Now was as good a time as ever.

"Does the name... Pyrrha Nikos... mean anything to you?" Out of the corner of her eye, she watched for Soverign's reaction. That itself would tell her if he was just doing this to get a famous friend, or something else very similar. To her surprise, his head tilted sharply to one side, and his lips parted a touch in an expression most likely meant for thought. Deep, deep thought. They stayed as such for a minute or two as Soverign thought it over, then...

"Not even ringing a bell!" Well... that was news. So he really didn't know who she wa-

"It's an absolutely beautiful name, though. Is it yours? I bet it's yours."

There. Right there, her chest tightened in on itself, and her eyes opened wide. She sucked in a breath unconsciously and held it in, her body heating up just a bit as the full comment registered in her mind. He really, truly had no idea who she was, and he was just buying her freaking food, complimenting her and taking her apart like he knew every little piece of her, buying drinks and leading her to such beautiful spots such as the lake...

Her chest heaved as a sob worked its way up.

"... Pyrrha?"

Her throat tightened as she pictured Jaune in her mind, finding the image slowly being erased, blue eyes shining yellow, messy blonde locks instead bleaching themselves silver, form thinning just a bit as everything became soft, the surroundings becoming bleak, shining with neon lights reflecting off of stone surfaces, water pooled up on one side of her as a hand was extended outside of her little patch of darkness.

"... Pyrrha? You okay?"

She tossed her drink aside and instead followed the voice, taking the hand in her mind and the teen next to her into her arms, her face heading directly for his chest as if it would bury all of her worries and simply leave her with the serenity that would match that of the lake's crystal surface. All of this, all of this trouble on his end, all just because she'd run out of a restaurant after his performance.

"Pyrrha!"

The food, the compliments, the lies! She couldn't take it anymore; with a short sob, she broke down against him and spilled herself. Internally, she was scolding herself for just confiding in someone that was a complete stranger, but... he had just pushed her over the edge with all of the crap he'd done without even knowing her NAME! She had to look pathetic, even as she felt the gloved hands press against her back, as the story she'd held in for months and months on end just spilled out into his chest, as if his heart would hear her and whisper its advice back. It took only a minute, but felt like hours before she finally heaved a final sob and just let herself rest.

His chest was so comfortable, but she only enjoyed it for a second more before he tapped her back, and pulled her back just a touch so she'd be able to see his face. Smiling. Still smiling. Gods, that smile was beautiful. The stars were looking down on her and burning themselves with jealousy, they must have been! She looked down, away from him, her heart pounding out a beat she couldn't keep up with inside of her chest.

"Hey. Look up." The tone was too gentle; her gaze gravitated back up to Soverign, eyes locking and making her breath catch again in her throat. It was only for a second, as he raised a hand up to eye level, allowing her to see a deck of cards.

"Have you heard the story about the beggar queen?" Beggar queen...? She shook her head as she sucked in a breath, sniffling with the effort. He widened his smile a touch as he tapped the deck, and the Queen of Spades fell out of it.

"That's the Beggar Queen. She was pushed into the dirt after her kingdom was destroyed, and the attackers took everything she had." He tapped it again, and out fell the entire diamond suit, minus the face cards. He waved his hand over them once, twice, and the third time, they were gone, out of sight. Not even back in the deck.

"She lived in despair and fear of the others, and avoided anyone for fear of being recognized and ridiculed. Often, she took to the forest paths to get around, but she lost her way on one trip and stumbled into a cavern."

His other hand raised up and made a circle with the fingers, leaving a little room to push the card in with a little bending.

"She decided to explore it just to see if there was anything worth value inside, but instead, found a small crystal heart."

He turned his fist over and opened it up, revealing the queen card- unscathed, mind- with a shining ace of hearts resting over her. Did he even have time to get that card in his hand? Pyrrha watched on in amazement, not wishing to miss one single moment of the... magic? It had to be.

"The heart told her of a place of respite ahead on the other path, and asked her to take it with her and to place it just over her chest."

His hand closed again, and he reached in the small opening to pull out... just one card; the Queen of Spades with a small, light blue heart imprinted in the center. Pyrrha's eyes widened and lips parted as she leaned in to see the heart catch the lights from the stars above.

"She followed the second path from her original road, and soon came upon a young man who looked sickly."

A quick shake of the deck revealed the Jack of Spades.

"He saw her first, and then her crystal heart, and asked her if she could spare a moment to get him into town so that he may be treated. She was fearful of him, due to his sick complexion, but the heart whispered that she should give it to him instead. She refused, and left the sick man in the forest. A turn in the path made her think she was headed into town, but instead circled back to the sick man. Again, he asked her for help, and the heart told her to give it away, but she refused and carried on."

Was there even a point to this?

"Again, the path lead her right back to the now dying man, laying prone in the path, and he looked up at her as she passed. He said that he was a royal of an old kingdom that fell to a hostile nation, and they had enslaved him and left him for dead after finding that he didn't have long to live, and so would be useless. She found herself reminded of her position, and heeded the heart's request."

Soverign smiled as he pressed the cards together, faces touching, then handed them to Pyrrha. She looked down at the two card stack curiously as he continued his little story.

"As the crystal heart touched his hand, still in hers, it gave a cheer and flashed brightly for a moment, no longer. As their sights returned to them, they found themselves standing in each other's arms, clad in..."

He motioned for Pyrrha to turn the top card over, which she complied with to find the two cards were the King and Queen of Diamonds instead. He smiled as he took the cards and slid them together.

"... diamonds. They looked into each other's eyes and left the forest together, finding that they were bound by much more than just circumstance. They built a kingdom again from the bottom up..." He began to spread the cards out in his hands, the Ace of Diamonds appearing first, then the two... the three... all up until the ten, each shining as if the cards were embedded with the fire he kept behind his eyes.

"... and found that their story was just the beginning." Soverign brought the cards together once more, then spread out an entire deck of 52, each one a Queen with a small fragment of a heart in the center. Each one looked out at Pyrrha with eyes that seemed to be made of emeralds, hair that appeared to liquid fire. They all just looked like...

"Me..."

"Was it hard to tell?" That little question made Pyrrha's face tighten up, just a bit... then smile. Smile a bit wider. She soon found herself laughing gently at the entire display, shaking her head and lowering herself in disbelief.

"You set that up!"

"Set it up? I can't set up an entire deck of queens without them looking drastically different." Point taken. He even flashed the back of the cards to her, which bore a rather familiar coat of arms.

"So you know about Beacon?" The teen's eyebrow went up with a bemused smile at the question.

"Know? I'm ENROLLED there, Pyrrha." Enrolled? Really! She quickly ran her memory through to see if she could ever recall seeing him at Beacon. Quick answer, not at all. That, however, was good news and bad news at the same time; she would at least be able to see him again, instead of having to comb the cities and kingdoms to try and hunt him down, but knowing that she could be ensnared by him, read by his eyes as if she were just a text...

The shivers returned, bringing with them a strange sort of pleasure.

"W-well... I'll keep an eye out for you."

"Not if I keep two out for you." Gods, that was stupid, but he seemed so serious, it was just... funny. Pyrrha allowed herself a moment of giggles before shaking her head clear, and just staring back at Soverign. Would he relent, she wondered, if I could mimic that stare-

"PYRRHA!" The sudden call of her name shocked her away from the teen's eyes, and made her glance back up their original path. That voice... Jaune? She knew she should have been excited at the thought of Jaune himself searching for her THIS far, but it was cut off with a strange undertone of sadness. Not even one more moment of this serenity? Apparently not; Soverign himself was rising to his feet, glancing up at the barrier before kneeling back down in front of Pyrrha.

"Close your eyes." What?

"... Close... my eyes?"

"Yes. I'll come back and see you again, I promise." Her eyes flicked down as his hands rose up to grasp either side of her head, the gentle grip setting her skin on fire as his eyes locked firmly with hers. Oh, what she would give to just stare into them and lose herself in a sea of gold... She closed her eyes reluctantly.

"Count to three, and then call out for your friend. I'll help. One..."

_Please let him come back._

"Two..."

_Please let this not be a dream; please let him be there at Beacon._

"Three." Pyrrha's eyes slowly opened to see only the thin air and undisturbed surface of the lake.

_… Please._

* * *

_ The next morning..._

There came a knock at the door of team JNPR's dorm, all but one of the members in classes, as the fourth called in sick. Sick, no, but certainly tired. The knocking was irksome, however, and unrelenting in its purpose; the remaining member found herself tiredly stumbling her way out of her bed and towards the door. Perhaps it was Ozpin, coming to ask why exactly she had called in sick for her classes that morning. She could just say she ate something bad; Jaune would cover for her, after all.

Jaune... not someone she wanted to even think about that morning. Funny. Slowly, she turned the knob on the door, and pulled it in to open it.

"Yes? It was just food poison... ing..."

"Was that sandwich REALLY bad?"

Gods alive, if those eyes didn't melt her...


End file.
